Was the market place busy in the medieval times?

Answer 1

There were different kinds of marketplaces in the Middle Ages. One kind of market was a fair, which was a temporary market set up at a village, important crossroads, or such a place.

The other was a permanent market set up in a town, and the market was, in fact, the distinctive feature of a town. A permanent market require a royal charter, in many places, and the markets were regulated so they would not compete with each other. This was the reason why there were so few towns in England after the Norman conquest; the royal charters had not been given out.

Markets had vendors of all sorts, including everything from serfs selling food to merchants selling imported goods. The town markets had permanent shops along with stalls for itinerant craftsmen and tradesmen. The fairs, of course, had no permanent shops. One thing nearly all permanent markets had was people who sold prepared food, because most town and city folk could not afford to have their own cooking facilities, and so had to buy cooked food.

Answer 2

There were no stoves, just heated rocks.

The regular markets were held in town squares. You can still see some today. A good example that still exists is Axebridge, UK. They have made some changes, but the same layout is still there. Winchester, UK, has its "market cross" still standing, as do other cities and towns. Maybe you can find some images on-line from cities and towns in the UK or on the continent.

Answer 3

The word market is from Latin marcatus, which meant market place. It is an old term.

During the middle ages, a market was typically a place in a town where merchants had booths and retail shops. Some of these were permanent structures, and others were more like tents or wagons from which itinerant merchants could sell. They hawked everything one might imagine, including food, cloth, jewelry, carpets, and so on. The merchants who had permanent shops were usually responsible for running the market, and where guild members. Those who were passing through rented their places in the market for short periods of time, bought local goods, and sold other goods before moving on to the next town.

The market was the distinctive feature of a town. Markets required royal charters in many places, and the charters were given out to towns at a reasonable distance from one anther so they would not compete with each other unnecessarily.

The distinctive feature of a city was its cathedral. Cities had markets, and they were much like town markets, but bigger.

Villages did not have markets, but had fairs instead, which were similar, but only held irregularly, and did not require charters. These did not usually have permanent shops, though there were often specialized shops in villages, such as a bakery. Fairs were also often held outside the villages in fields, at crossroads, or at bridges, where there was road traffic.

Answer 4

Medieval weekly markets were very strictly regulated and could only be held with the permission of the king, who would have to grant a royal licence. This legal document stated the day and place for the market to be held, together with the name of the person or institution who would benefit from all the tolls, rents, fees and other payments resulting from the market.

A typical market was held in the centre of a village or town, in a wide street or market square. Booths and tables would be erected (these were normally of wood and canvas so they could easily be erected and dismantled) on plots which would be paid for by the stallholders; they could sell their wares only at a fixed price. Normally the shops of the town or village were not allowed to open on market days.

The stallholders would usually be merchants, tinkers, peddlars and traders who travelled from market to market selling their goods: spices, cloth, metal goods, pottery, animals, fruit and vegetables, bread, medicines, jewellery, wine and ale, furniture and all manner of things. Sometimes there might be street entertainers.

An example of a typical English market is that at the village of Stowting in Kent, which was licensed by king John in 1214 to have a market every Tuesday at the manor of Sir Stephen de Harengod, the local baron. He would have received all the financial income from the rents and tolls.

The link below takes you to a modern artist's impression of a medieval market:

Answer 5

A basic medieval market would be held in a town square or simply a wide street. There would be regular days that a particular market met. Merchants and craftsmen might have booths or semi-permanent structures in some markets, or might just sell their goods from baskets and boxes. Peasants from nearby villages would bring their surplus produce to sell. Hawkers would cry their goods or walk about selling them out of hand.

In some larger towns and cities where were markets held in large covered halls, where the stalls were rented to merchants on an individual basis (Medieval Shopping Malls!!). These had the obvious advantage of not being discouraged by poor weather.

Answer 6

yes every one rushed to the market at about 4:30 in the morning